Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Arbitrary Photos and a Point


Here is a photo of a kitten.

What a wonderful way to start off a post, eh? I'm going a little nuts here, all this snow is sending me a little bit around the proverbial bend. I'm doing a little work, although not TOO much on the run up to Christmas. I'm way ahead of schedule, though, and having a blast.

I managed to get all my Christmas shopping done, too. Well, most of it. Laura's present is being shipped over from the UK tomorrow, hopefully- that is, if the weather doesn't close the airports again. That's the only worry I have this year.

Every Christmas Eve, Laura and her sister Katie come over and we all sit at the kitchen table and they babble on in this weird sister-talk thing of half-finished sentences and references to things I know nothing about, and then we exchange presents. My presents to them are always AWESOME. Their presents to me usually consist of a jar of boiled sweets.

Oh look, here's one of my doggies!


Where was I?

Oh yes, Laura and Katie. So that's the tradition, that's what we've been doing for the past few years. I have Katie's present already bought and ready to hand over, so I'm just hoping that Laura's gets here in time. Also being shipped over are the presents for my mother and my sisters, but it's Laura who's the important one. The others will understand if their gifts arrive late. Laura is the only one who will look at me with those eyes...

Speaking of eyes, look at this! I'm fairly certain a reader in Australia (or possibly New Zealand) brought these to one of my events back in... in... well, whenever I was over there.

Check it out! It's Skulduggery and the Grotesquery!



Which reminds me- I'm going to read ten pieces of fan fiction this Christmas, just to spoil myself. So if you have any favourites out there, let me know- and yes, you may suggest your OWN fan fiction, it's not as arrogant as it sounds...

These pieces would, preferably, be on the shorter side. Obviously, I'm not going to be reading huge multi-part stories, because that would mean I'd have to miss Doctor Who on Christmas Day, and that is NOT going to happen AGAIN.

And look! Another picture! This time of a some truly odd people dressed as Skulduggery characters!


And LEGO SKULDUGGERY AND VALKYRIE!



How are you guys going to be spending Christmas, by the way? We're doing some of our visiting on Christmas Eve, then the second half of visiting Christmas Day, and then mmmmmmm dinner...

After which, my cousins will be coming over to my parents' place, and we'll all play a game and eat turkey sandwiches. It's my job to pick a new game every year. We started off with poker, then decided that was clearly too grown-up for us, so this year we'll be playing Pictionary- the game of kings.

And these three little ladies will be joining the Landy clan for their first ever Christmas. The twins are dressed as the most coolest character EVER in the world (and being held on the knees of people I have never seen before), and little Sophie is dressed as some kind of... er... pumpkin... thing...



These pictures were obviously taken at Halloween.

My sisters do NOT dress their children like this normally.


Honest.


If I don't post again by Saturday, then a big Merry Christmas to all my Minions, my Munchkin Army, and my Ninja Leprechauns. For those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, you all get a big cheery wave and a slightly awkward expression.

I will write again soon, if only to tell you what astonishingly disappointing present I get from my sisters this year...

Monday, December 20, 2010

No Movie News

Sorry for the title of this post, I just wanted to make sure that none of you start believing a story that's been reported in the papers saying that Johnny Depp is going to play Skulduggery. This is, to say the least, not true. The movie rights are back with me for the moment- meaning they aren't attached to any studio. Basically, I'm far too busy with Book 6 to even consider a Skulduggery movie right now. But who knows when I'll have news for you?

(And just to make sure, that was NOT a sly way of hinting at upcoming news, because there IS no news! None!)

Thursday, December 9, 2010

The List


Okay then, here is the LONG list of UK cinemas in which the book trailer will be appearing. It’ll be shown in the pre-film adverts- so it won’t be part of the movie trailer section- at selected showings of Harry Potter and the new Narnia. We can’t give specific performance times or dates, unfortunately, so all you can do is HOPE that you pick a screening over the next two weeks where it’ll be shown...

For those of you who won’t get a chance to see it on the big screen, you have my commiserations. If it makes you feel any better- even I won’t be able to see it in a cinema. How much does THAT suck?

But for those of you who DO get to see it, come back here and tell me how it looks, okay?



MIDLANDS
Birmingham VUE
Birmingham AMC Broadway Plaza
Birmingham (Erdington) Showcase
Birmingham Empire
Coventry Showcase
Dudley Showcase
Walsall Showcase

LONDON
Thurrock VUE
 Acton VUE
Watford VUE
Harrow VUE
North Finchley VUE
Dagenham VUE
Finchley Road VUE
Shepherd’s Bush VUE
Staines VUE
Croydon (Grants) VUE
Islington VUE
Fulham Broadway VUE
Romford VUE
Wood Green VUE
Westfield VUE
London Piccadilly Apollo
Wimbledon HMV Curzon
Chelsea Cinema
Bluewater Showcase
Newham Showcase
Bromley Empire
London Leicester Square Empire
Sutton Empire

YORKSHIRE
Doncaster VUE
Sheffield VUE
Leeds (Kirstall Road/Cardigan) VUE
Leeds (THE LIGHT) Showcase
Leeds (BIRSTALL) Showcase

NORTH EAST
Hartlepool VUE
Stockton (TEESIDE) Showcase
Newcastle Empire
Sunderland Empire
LANCASHIRE
Bolton VUE
Birkenhead VUE
Cheshire Oaks VUE
Manchester (South Quays) VUE (Red Cinema)
Southport VUE
Bury (The Rock) VUE
Altrincham Apollo
Liverpool Showcase
Wigan Empire

WALES AND WEST
Bristol Cribs VUE
Bristol Longwell Green VUE
Bristol Orpheus
Bristol (AVON MEADS) Showcase
Bristol (CABOT CIRCUS) Cine de Lux
Cardiff VUE
Cardiff (NANTGAWR) Showcase
Swansea VUE
Merthyr Tydfil VUE
Cwmbran VUE
Port Talbot Apollo

CENTRAL SCOTLAND
Edinburgh (OMNI) VUE
Edinburgh (OCEAN) VUE
Livingstone VUE
Glasgow East Showcase
Glasgow (PAISLEY)
Clydebank Empire


Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Book Trailer

Remember that little Book Trailer competition we launched a few months ago, with our friends at Waterstone's? Remember, we were looking for a minute-long ad to play in UK cinemas, promoting the books?

If you remember that, you may also remember the fact that we chose not one, but TWO winners- Liam Fitzpatrick and Danielle Drew- and combined their ideas to make the Best Thing Ever In The World ™.
Remember all that? Oh I AM glad. Because, drum roll please, the trailer is ready.

The reason that this was a “UK only” competition, and the reason the trailer will only be shown in UK cinemas (take a look on the blog tomorrow and there'll be a list), is simply because Waterstone's UK came to us with the proposal. But does that mean you minions living outside of the UK will never be able to see it? Pfffft. How unfair would THAT be? The fact is, we’re putting it online FIRST so that you, my faithful minions, will be able to devour it like the insatiable little zombie-readers that you are.

You’re going to need a bucket as you watch this, because your brain WILL melt. That’s an official health warning.




If you’re having trouble viewing from the blog, click here

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Word Count

Ahem.

Just a brief note to update you on how the work is progressing. So far, every book has been longer than the one before. The first book was about 75,000 words, and Mortal Coil was over 100,000. With Book 6, I'm planning on continuing that trend, but I don't know by how much.

I've been working away at the first section of the story, the first quarter of the book, dipping in an out of scenes and chapters... Even though, officially, I started this book on November 6th, a lot of things have been taking up my time, so I've really only been able to seriously write in the past week. And in the past week I've written almost 20,000 words. That's roughly a fifth of the book, and I've done it in six days.

I am on a ROLL.

Praise be to me!